The U.S. Navy's decision yesterday to shift the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to San Diego instead of Pearl Harbor removes a shadow over the redevelopment of potentially valuable land at Kalaeloa in West O'ahu.

The possible relocation of the carrier to Pearl Harbor and its air wing to Kalaeloa had colored almost every new idea for land on or near the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station, from affordable housing and high-tech industry to minimum-security prisons and a world-class motorsports complex.

With the aircraft carrier now out of the picture, state officials and business leaders said they could look at the future of Kalaeloa with more certainty.

"There is more clarity about what would be the best use of the property out there," said Jim Tollefson, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i.

Gov. Linda Lingle, who wants the state to purchase more land at Kalaeloa for housing and economic development, said the Navy's decision helps the state move forward.

"This decision had kept a lot of things from happening," she said. "People were waiting to see what happened. I had mixed feelings about a carrier group coming in, whether or not we could, in fact, support it with our infrastructure, our water, our schools, our housing.

"It just left too much uncertainty, so I'm glad a decision has been made."

The Navy closed Barbers Point in 1999, and much of the 3,700-acre naval station sits vacant, a militaristic ghost town in need of costly infrastructure repairs that present a major roadblock to redevelopment.

NEW HOMES PLANNED

The Hawai'i Community Development Association's master plan for its slice of the land is to build 6,350 new homes, a third of which would be affordable to lower-income residents. The plan also calls for new public schools and light industrial, commercial and retail office space.

Planners hope to link Kalaeloa with the growing housing and commercial magnet at Kapolei and with a University of Hawai'i West O'ahu campus.

But the 20-year plan hinges on state and private investment. The redevelopment is expected to cost $3.3 billion, with $250 million worth of state infrastructure improvements.

Daniel Dinell, the development authority's executive director, said the plan did take into account the potential use of Kalaeloa's airfield for the carrier's air wing.

"So in my mind this news (of the San Diego selection) simply takes an unknown variable and puts it in a known category that the carrier is not going to be coming to Pearl Harbor," Dinell said. "But it doesn't impact the master plan itself."

The Navy kept about 1,055 acres at Kalaeloa when the naval station closed. Of that, 424 acres have beach cabins, a golf course and other uses. Another 132 acres with housing have been sold. Congress also has required the Navy to sell or lease about 500 acres in the mauka portion by September 2008.

DEVELOPMENT CURBED

The base closure identified 2,654 acres to be conveyed, and 1,535 acres of that have been turned over to a variety of government agencies.

Although specific plans for Kalaeloa have been proposed, the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, in its own description of the region, notes that the potential for an aircraft carrier strike group caused a relative absence in development.

Lingle and several state lawmakers want the state to purchase the 500 acres at Kalaeloa that the Navy needs to dispose of by 2008. The development authority could use the land toward its larger goal of creating a model community, similar to previous state redevelopment at Kaka'ako.

A House bill authorizing revenue bonds for the purchase of the land, however, is not moving in the Senate.

"For me, it's about the state keeping control of that area so that we don't have unfettered development," said state Rep. Sharon Har, D-40th (Royal Kunia, Makakilo, Kapolei).

State Sen. Mike Gabbard, R-19th (Kapolei, Makakilo, Waikele), who lives in Kalaeloa, said redevelopment has been on hold for too many years. "Frankly, I'm happy we're finally getting closure on the issue," he said. "I think it's time for all the stakeholders now to get together, talk story, get to work and bring the place back to life."

State House Majority Leader Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), said the state should concentrate on improving its existing land at Kalaeloa before buying an additional 500 acres.

"Let's focus on what we have out there already before we ask for more," he said. "Why do we need another 500 acres when we have so much land that is being underutilized?"

State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), also indicated that the state should not make any further commitments at Kalaeloa without fully knowing the military's future options.

"I don't think it's something that we have to make a decision on this session," she said.

CARRIER DECISION

The Navy announced that the USS Carl Vinson would relocate to San Diego by 2010 after considering Pearl Harbor, Guam and Puget Sound, Wash. The Vinson would be the third aircraft carrier in San Diego, joining the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan.

The Vinson's home port now is in Bremerton, Wash., but it is being renovated at Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard in Virginia.

U.S. Sens. Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel Akaka, both Hawai'i Democrats, said yesterday in a joint statement that they were disappointed. Inouye is the chairman of the Senate's defense appropriations subcommittee. Akaka is chairman of the Senate's armed services subcommittee on readiness and management.

A carrier group can be a boost to the local economy. In San Diego, the Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2003 calculated that each carrier had an annual $270 million economic impact, including $111 million in payroll spent locally and $40 million in maintenance contracts.

"We are disappointed that the USS Carl Vinson will not be coming to Pearl Harbor. The cost of sending a carrier to Hawai'i was interpreted as too high when the carrier could be more easily accommodated in San Diego and when compared to Hawai'i's advantage of its much closer proximity to potential trouble spots in Asia that threaten our national security," the senators said.

"The Navy's decision does not change Hawai'i's strategic importance. Hawai'i remains a key fleet location for the Navy, and will continue to be so into the foreseeable future.

"We look forward to other opportunities in the future to expand the Navy's presence in Hawai'i."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com and William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.